Pamela Hargreaves - Director

Pamela set up Xivvi Ltd with her business partner in response to a number of requests for help from organisations looking to increase their income during the recession.

Combining a desire to help much-needed organisations survive and then grow with ten years of senior management and leadership experience across the public, voluntary and private sectors, Xivvi is a vehicle to allow Pamela’s natural ability to connect like-minded individuals in search of interesting and innovative new approaches to problems. 

Pamela is a Law and Politics graduate from Durham University whose professional experience includes responsibility for delivering multi-media and communications campaigns across the North East and UK-wide, developing strategic partnerships, government liaison, project development and management and public affairs.

Pamela’s career has taken her across the country, most recently working as Director of Policy, Research and Strategy at London-based Enterprise UK. She has worked with many of the major business membership organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Confederation of British Industry (CBI), British Chambers of Commerce and Institute of Directors (IoD) as well as a number of large delivery organisations like the Prince’s Trust and Young Enterprise. Elected a Councillor in Hartlepool in 2003, Pamela was called up to the Mayor’s Cabinet in 2005 where she has established a reputation for sound decision-making and visionary thinking. As Cabinet member for Children’s Services she led the development of the business case for the £100 million Building Schools for the Future initiative; as Performance Portfolio Holder, she oversaw the awarding of the Local Authority’s four-star rating. Most recently, she accepted the brief of Economic Development and Regeneration where she leads on capital investment and business start-up and support amongst other areas. Pamela is a Board member of the Association of North East Councils and recently chaired its task-and-finish group examining responses to child poverty in the North East region.

Pamela also has extensive experience of both the public and voluntary sectors. She is Director of registered-social-landlord, Housing Hartlepool, and is currently the Chair of a local children’s charity and a social enterprise which acts as a training-bistro for young people. 

Pamela’s specialist skill areas include:

• Extensive knowledge and understanding of the public sector, particularly Local Government
• Skilled negotiator and excellent relationship builder and manager
• Efficient project and contract manager
• Innovative leader and exceptional motivator
• 10 years’ experience in the voluntary sector and highly successful Chair of two growing charities
• Proven strategic thinker and creative problem-solver

Paul Thompson – Director

Paul Thompson brings a vast portfolio of experience to Xivvi from a career which has spanned the public, private and voluntary sectors.

After qualifying as a maths teacher, Paul became the manager of the Millennium Volunteers (MV) project, based within the local Voluntary Development Agency, which sourced and matched young people, between the ages of 16 and 24, with volunteering opportunities. He developed the MV project into one of the most high-achieving and successful in the North East region and nationally. 

In 2007 he became the Manager of one of the largest, and longest-running, charities in Hartlepool.  Under Paul’s leadership and direction over the last 4 years the charity, which specialises in providing services for children and families across Hartlepool and the surrounding areas, has developed and grown beyond recognition.  It has more than doubled its turnover, employs 36 people, works with over 75 volunteers, delivers services directly commissioned from Hartlepool Borough Council and the Primary Care Trust and is in the top 5% of charities nationally in terms of income.

Running alongside his career in the voluntary and community sector, Paul has also run two successful businesses – a regional entertainments company, which he operated for 10 years, and an international internet company providing web-based solutions for SMEs and charities. Launched in 2004, Paul’s internet business continues to enjoy a growing customer base, particularly amongst charities and social enterprises in the third sector, and now plays an integral role in Xivvi’s offer to clients - providing a range of services from branding and website design to hosting and IT software sourcing.

Paul’s entrepreneurial attitude is not just confined to his professional life. In 1994, Paul founded, and continues to chair, Hartlepool Footlight Youth Theatre, which gives young people the skills and confidence to perform on stage.

Paul is an accomplished bid writer, project manager and events organiser and even dabbles in a spot of radio broadcasting in his spare time.

Paul’s specialist skill areas include:

• Extensive knowledge of the voluntary and community sector and the private sector
• Fundraising and bid-writing
• Project development and management
• Generating and executing innovative income-generating ideas
• Specialist IT knowledge and technical insight, particularly sourcing web-based solutions to business-related problems
• Efficient project and contract manager